These are the Fitness Terms, Definitions, Slang and other words currently stored in our Fitness Dictionary. If you know any fitness terms that are not mentioned in this list then go ahead and suggest a word for our dictionary.

There are 97 Fitness Terms in our Fitness Dictionary:

ABDUCTION
to draw away from or deviate from the midline of the body; opposite of adduction; side movement away from the midline of the body; example a side leg raise moving the leg away from the body's center.

ABSOLUTE STRENGTH
The maximum amount a person can lift in one repetition.

ACTIN
one of the fibrous contractile proteins found in a myofibril

ACUTE
having a rapid onset; sharp, severe; opposite of chronic

ADDUCTION
to bring toward the midline of the body; opposite of abduction; example, bringing the elbows together in the font of the body like a chest press working the pectoralis muscle.

AEROBIC EXERCISES
any exercise that maintains an increased heart rate. Usually performed moderately for extended periods of time

AGILITY
The power of moving the limbs quickly and easily; nimbleness;activity; quickness of motion; as, strength and agility of body.

AGONIST
A muscle that causes the prime movement of a joint. The muscle that produces the opposite movement is the antagonist. For example, in the bicep curl, the biceps are the agonist and the triceps arw the antagonist.

ANAEOROBIC THRESHOLD
The highest point at which lactic productiion exceeds lactic acid removal.

ANTAGONIST
Muscle that counteracts the agonist, lengthening when the agonist muscle contracts.

ATROPHY
The loss of bodily tissues (such as muscle), usually the result of disease or lack of use.

BARBELL
These are weights attached to a long bar which requires both hands to pick up.

BASAL METABOLIC RATE
The rate at which the body burns calories while awake but at rest (usually measured in calories per day).

BODY COMPOSITION
This Fitness Component is the ratio of lean body mass to fat. Lean body mass represents the weight of water, muscle, bone and internal organs. Body fat represents the remaining fat tissue and is expressed as a percentage of total body weight.

BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)
The BMI is a number that reflects the percentage of body fat in proportion to lean body mass (i.e. bone, muscle, tissue, organs, and blood). This is a height-weight system of measurement that applies to all gender.

BURN
This means acute soreness in gym linggo. This typically occurs during and immediately following exercise.

CALORIE
unit measuring the amount of energy obtained from food. Alcohol, carbohydrates, fats and proteins are the food sources in which calorie can be obtained.

CARDIAC OUTPUT
The amount of blood pumped by the heart per minute.

CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE
This is the body's ability, over sustained periods of physical activity, to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues, and to remove wastes.

CHRONIC
descriptive of a condition that persists over a long period of time: opposite of acute.

CHRONIC DISUSE
any disease state that persists over a long period of time.

CIRCUIT
Circuit or “circuit training” refers to the sequential use of all the machines in a weight room.

CIRCUIT TRAINING
Group of exercises performed repeatedly in a cycle

COMPUND MOVEMENT
An exercise that targets more than one muscle or muscle group

CONCENTRIC CONTRACTION
A contraction in which a muscle exerts force, shortens, and overcomes resistance.

DAILY ONSET MUSCLE SORENESS
This refers to pain and soreness that occurs 24 to 48 hours after exercise. DOMS is due to the microscopic muscle damage that takes place when you lift. You usually feel the beginning of DOMS the day after you lift. Still, it often reaches its peak at about 48 hours after the lift.

DELTS
slang term referring to the deltoid muscle

DESCENDING SETS
The weight decreases each set but the reps stay the same.

DORSAL
the backside

DORSIFLEXION
bending backward of the hand or foot; opposite of plantarflexion

DUMBBELL
These are weights attached to a short bar that can be held in one hand.

ECCENTRIC CONTRACTION
A contraction in which a muscle exerts force, lengthens, and is overcome by a resistance.

ECCENTRIC CONTRACTION (ACTION)
A controlled lengthening of the muscle during its contraction; the resistance overcomes the muscular force and the muscle lengthens.

ELASTICITY
the ability of a tissue or other material to return to its original size or shape after stretching or elongation

EMPTY CALORIES
calories obtained from foods high in sugar and fat without significant nutritional value

ENDOCRINE
pertaining to a gland that secretes directly into the bloodstream: the opposite of exocrine

ENDURANCE
It is the power to withstand hardship or stress.

ENERGY BALANCE
the balance between energy taken in and energy used

ENZYMES
proteins that speed up specific chemical reactions

ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS
eight of the twenty-three different amino acids needed to make proteins in adults; called essential because they must be obtained from the diet since they cannot be manufactured by the body

ESSENTIAL FAT
fat that cannot be produced by the body and must be supplied by the diet; linoleic acid, linolenic acid and arachidonic acid are essential fats.

ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT
a nutrient that must be supplied by the diet because it cannot be produced in sufficient quantities by the body.

EVERSION
turning outward

EXERCISE
It is an active bodily exertion performed to develop or maintain fitness.

EXERTION
To put into vigorous action and/or to put (oneself) into great effort in any fitness related field.

FATS
break down to fatty acids and glycerol. Fat is stored energy; it cushions organs and body parts and insulates the body. We need a percentage of body fat.

FIN TO
Getting ready to work out. "I'm Fin To work out here in a minute."

FITNESS CALCULATORS
provide calculations for your BMI, target heart rate, height, and weight, and the matching interpretation from the data you entered.

FITT PRINCIPLE
FITT stands for Frequency Intensity Type Time. This is basically the philosphy that is needed to gain benefits from training.

FLEXIBILITY
This is the ability to move joints and use muscles through their full range of motion.

FLEXION
bending of a limb at a joint: decreasing the angle of the joint

FREE WEIGHTS
These are weights not attached to a machine nor driven by cables or chains.

MUSCULAR ENDURANCE
This is the ability of a muscle, or a group of muscles, to sustain repeated contractions or to continue applying force against a fixed object.

MUSCULAR STRENGTH
This is the muscle's ability to exert force for a brief span of time.

NEGATIVE (ECCENTRIC)
the part of a resistance exercise when the weight is lowered

NEGATIVES
An advanced technique in which you stress the negative or eccentric phase of an exercise. These techniques are a great way to condition your body to a new weight when you've reached a strength plateau.

NERVES
It is the cordlike bundles of fibers made up of neurons through which sensory stimuli and motor impulses pass between the brain or other parts of the central nervous system and the eyes, glands, muscles, and other parts of the body. Nerves form a network of pathways for conducting information throughout the body.

ORIGIN
attachment of a muscle that is more superior or proximal

OVERLOADING
This is the technical term for making a muscle work beyond its comfortable point of exertion. When you overload your muscles, they are forced to become stronger so as to cope with the increased load.

PHYSICAL FITNESS
The ability of the human body to function with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with ample energy to engage in leisure activities, and to meet physical stresses (Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2004).

PLATEAU EFFECT
The Plateau Effect occurs when you may be working out but do not see improvements in your Fitness Level because your body is no longer being overloaded.

PLATES
lead plates of weight used in resistance training

POSITIVE (CONCENTRIC)
the part of a resistance exercise when the exerciser lifts the weight by pushing or pulling

POSTERIOR
back portion or toward the back; example, a tendon located behind the inner ankle is the posterior tibialis tendon

PRONE
lying face down in a horizontal position

PROTRACTION
scapular abduction

PROXIMAL
anatomical term meaning closer to the trunk of the body: nearest the point of attachment or nearest the center of the body.

PULMONARY
affecting the lungs or lung tissue

PYRAMIDS
Weight increases in each set and the reps decreases in each set.

QUADRICEPS
It is the large four-part extensor muscle at the front of the thigh.

RATE OF PERCIVED EXERTION (RPE)
RPE is a subjective rating that the trainer assigns to the intensity of his/her exercise based on their perception of hard the physical exertion was.

RECOVERY
The time after a workout in which it takes the body to recover.

REP
Is short for repetition and refers to one completed movement.

RESISTANCE EXERCISE
Also known as Weight Training , this means working or training with weights – free weights, weights on a gym machine, or your own body weight.

REVERSIBILITY
This is the stage after the plateau. This happens when you have been in the plateau stage for a long period and your body has not experienced challenging workouts and overload for some time. Reversibility usually occurs when you don't increase your weights during exercises or when you don't vary your exercise routine.

RMR
(Resting Metabolic Rate) - Calories your body burns at rest.

ROUTINE
It is a set of customary and often mechanically performed procedures or activities.

SET
Refers to the number of reps performed steadily and continuously without a break. An example is “three sets of 15 reps” equals to 45 exercise movements.

SPOT REDUCING
This occurs when you try to eliminate weight or fat from a specific part of your body and concentrates working only on that part. In effect, you tend to build muscle in that area when, generally, you just need to lose fat from that part.

STRETCHING
An exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent. When you stretch, you expand your muscles and limbs by lengthening or widening. Stretching is essential to overall Fitness.

SUPERSETS
An advance technique that involves performing two different exercises with little rest in between.

TARGET HEART RATE (THR)
The heart rate you should maintain when you exercise.

VO2 MAX
Maximum amount of oxygen in millimetres one can use in one minute per 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of body weight. This is a measure of your capacity to generate the energy required for endurance activities.

WARM-UP
This is the process wherein you literally raise your body temperature (some say for about one to two degrees Celsius) to prepare your muscles from the normal to the exercise condition.

WEIGHT-BEARING EXERCISE
This is an exercise in which you support your weight or lift weight.

ZOTTMAN CURLS
Start with your palms facing up and curl the weight and then in one motion lower the weight back down with your palms facing down.